1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for mounting extremely small decals coated with pressure sensitive adhesive on a backing sheet such that the decals can be separated from each other manually and without great difficulty.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Decals having exposed surfaces with printed indicia thereon and opposite reverse sides coated with pressure sensitive adhesive have been used for many years. In order to maintain the decals such that the pressure sensitive adhesive remains fresh and strong, and in order to prevent the decals from adhering to undesired surfaces prior to use, the pressure sensitive decals are mounted on a backing sheet coated with a release agent. The backing sheet is a laminar sheet, one surface of which is coated with a slick or waxy substance to which the pressure sensitive adhesive of the decal will lightly adhere but from which the decals can be readily removed for secure application to a desired surface. The pressure sensitive adhesive does adhere lightly to the surface of the backing sheet that has been coated with a release agent. However, when a decal is desired for permanent application it can be readily peeled away from the backing sheet and affixed in a substantially permanent manner to some other surface.
In some decal mounting systems a laminar sheet of some material, such as paper, is imprinted at periodic, repetitive intervals so that the paper sheet bears an array of printed indicia. The printed paper is then coated on one side with a pressure sensitive adhesive. The printed paper is then pressed against a backing sheet that has been coated with a release agent. The printed paper sheet and the backing sheet thereupon reside in intimate, but removable contact throughout.
The sheet and backing paper are then moved past a die which cuts outlines of the desired final shape of each decal. These outlines are cut through the thickness of the printed paper sheet, but not through the backing paper, so that each indicia resides on a portion of the printed paper stock which is completely circumscribed by a die cut demarcation. The portion of the paper between the circumscribed areas thereby forms a web which can be stripped away from the backing sheet, leaving each of the circumscribed areas of the printed paper sheet mounted at separated intervals from each other on the underlying backing sheet. The decals can then be peeled back from the backing sheet, one by one, and applied to surfaces which are not coated with a release agent and to which the decals will remain firmly affixed.
In an alternative arrangement for mounting decals in preparation for use, a printed paper sheet coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive is pressed into contact with the surface of a backing sheet coated with a release aget. However, instead of die cutting only the paper sheet the juxtaposed layers of the printed sheet and backing material are scored intermittently, such as by perforations, so that beneath the area of each individual printed decal there is a congruent area of the backing sheet. The decal and the portion of the backing sheet upon which it is mounted may be removed from adjacent decals by tearing both the printed sheet and the backing sheet together along the lines of perforation.
Once the decal and the supporting portion of the backing sheet therebeneath have been separated from the remaining stock, the decal is separated from the portion of the backing sheet congruent therewith by initiation of a separation between the juxtaposed lamina at the edge of the interface therebetween. This may be done by inserting a fingernail or a thin blade between the decal and the congruent portion of the backing sheet upon which it is mounted. Once the adjacent edges are separated the decal and backing sheet portion can be grasped by the fingers of a user separately and pulled apart.
While the foregoing systems for mounting arrays of decals prior to use works quite well for decals of certain sizes, there are situations in which the configuration of the decal is such that it cannot be easily separated from the backing sheet for use according to any conventional mounting system, such as those of the type described. Significant difficulties in removing decals from backing strips for affixation to other articles arise when the decal is very small. This is because extremely tiny decals cannot be easily handled by the fingers of the human hands without inadvertently becoming affixed to an article in the wrong position. Also, in handling relatively long, narrow decals with the fingers of a human hand the decal will not infrequently become folded back upon itself, whereupon different portions of the same decal coated with pressure sensitive adhesive contact each other. When this occurs the portions of the decal which are adhered together cannot be separated without extensive damage to the decal. Once this happens the decal can only be discarded and an attempt must be made to use another decal in its place without experiencing the same mishap.
As an example, one situation in which the use of very narrow decals arises is in labeling the frames of eyeglasses. If the eyeglasses become lost or misplaced the owner can retrieve them through an identifying indicia applied to the inside surfaces of the temple pieces of the eyeglasses. According to such a system, at the time of sale the eyeglasses are provided with decals bearing an identification number and a telephone number of an entity with which the eyeglasses are registered. The name and address of the owner of the set of eyeglasses is recorded with this central information monitoring entity, along with an identifying number associated with the eyeglasses. When lost eyeglasses are turned into the information monitoring entity, the identity of the true owner can be ascertained by means of the decals which bear an identifying number which the registering agency can associate with the true owner. The registering agency then returns the eyeglasses to the true owner.
The decals thus previously applied to the temple pieces of the eyeglasses bear both the identity of the information monitoring entity and the telephone number of that entity. A person who finds the eyeglasses need merely look on the decals on the inside surfaces of the temple pieces so as to learn that these particular eyeglasses are registered with the central information monitoring entity, which serves as a clearing house. Also, the telephone number of that information storage entity can be ascertained from a decal on the opposite temple piece. The finder thereupon telephones the eyeglass registration entity. This entity then recovers the eyeglasses from the finder and, from the identification number on the decal, ascertains the identity of the true owner. The registration entity then contacts the true owner and advises that individual that the eyeglasses have been recovered. The true owner then retrieves the eyeglasses from the registration entity.
One problem with operating such a registration system is the difficulty encountered in initially applying the decals to the temple pieces of the eyeglasses. Because the temple pieces of eyeglasses are so long and narrow, the decals must likewise be extremely narrow in order to be mounted on the inside surfaces of the eyeglass temples so as to be concealed from view when the eyeglasses are worn in the normal manner by the owner. Specifically, the decals employed in such a system must be no greater than one quarter of an inch, and more typically are no greater than even about one eighth of an inch in width. In fact, one such system employs decals which are only about three thirty-seconds of an inch in width and about one and three eighths inches in length.
Very long, narrow decals are quite difficult to handle with the fingers of the human hands without some mishap, such as accidentally contacting the pressure sensitive coated portions of the decal together. When this occurs the decal can rarely be straightened out for uses without extensive damage, and is typically discarded.